Metropolitan - Criterion Collection
by Whit Stillman
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DVD details
Actor: Allison Parisi, Carolyn Farina, Chris Eigeman, Edward Clements, Taylor NicholsDirector: Whit Stillman
Brand: Image Entertainment
Cinematographer: John Thomas
Writer: Whit Stillman
Editor: Christopher Tellefsen
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Subtitled)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.66:1
Running Time: 99 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-02-14
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: New Line Cinema
Product features:
- One of the most the most significant achievements of the American independent film movement of the 1990s, writer-director Whit Stillman's debut, Metropolitan, is a sparkling comedic chronicle of a middle-class young man's romantic misadventures among New York City's debutante society. Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, Stillman's deft, literate script and
DVD Reviews of Metropolitan - Criterion Collection
DVD Review: S T R A N G E.....L I T T L E.....C L A S S I C
Summary: 3 Stars
i WOULD HAVE GIVEN "Metropolitan" 2 1/2 STARS, IF I COULD HAVE. For me, it is definitely somewhere BETWEEN "It's OK" and "I don't like it." But any number with 1/2 or better usually gets bumpted up to the next number...so a "3 star movie" it is, for me at least.
Now, I usually love ANYTHING dealing with the upper-crust. "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" was amongst my VERY favourite TV shows, and, of course, my favourite movie star is Grace Kelly. I have subscribed to both "Town and Contry" and "Royalty" magazines, ("Royalty" is far superiour -- for obvious reasons). So, I approached the viewing of this movie with anticipation and relish! Oh...to be a debutante!
Well, I ws more than disappointed. This movie purports to be a "comedy". I did not laugh, (or even smile), once. It is not a tragedy, exactly....just a drama, I guess. The dialogue, though literate, seems to make no connective sense, and, (for me at least), the story went n-o-w-h-e-r-e. There seemed no connectivity between once scene and another to me, though I tried, as you might imagine, VERY hard to CONCEMTRATE on the plot. I just couldn't understand
WHERE the characters of this movie were going, why they were going where they were going, and what they were doing to get there. (Where?) Further, though most of the characters proported to be "of he debutante set", they all took CABS. All the time! True, the one "middle class" character is criticised for being a "public transportation snob" -- one who looks down on people who take cabs, (and in once scene, surrpetitiously takes a cross-town bus) -- but, hey, aren't these supposed to be RICH people -- VERY rich people? VERY rich people -- in New York City, as well as elsewhere -- do not, as a rule, even take cabs. THEY HAVE CHAUFFEURS! Not one mention of chauffeurs was in the dialogue! And half the time, the group WALK through the Manhattan night! Now, I know from the
commentary given with the DVD, that this film, purportedly to be about VERY rich, young, New Yorkers, was actually shot on a very slender budget -- even the girls' gowns were lent by someone else!
However, if chauffeurs -- and their limosines -- were not available on the film's budget, couldn't they have creatively solved the problem by having dialogue like: "It's the chauffeur's week off", or "Our chauffeur was sick, and finding a replacement is beastly difficult -- you know what the servant problem is these days?" Or even, "We prefer our chauffeur to drive a mid-size car. Far less
noticable, you know." This way, the upper-upper status of all the characters but one would have been solidified -- and perhaps an interesting new character added. But no -- except for the middle-class boy who surrepitiously took the cross-town bus, all the characters here used CABS! So, their NON-upper-upper class status was assured. I was disappointed.
The dialogue here is wearying. I could not, as stated above, make out where the characters were going with their lives...unless, of course, to just MAKE OUT! I am sure that REAL very rich young people, even in the 1990s, when this picture was made, wanted to do MORE with their lives than just talk philosophy and, er, (again), MAKE OUT!
I did learn how to dress, informally, like a lady "preppy" from some of the scenes, (large pull-over sweater with a blouse's collar peeping out). The scenes of the characters walking into the Manhattan, New York night were very true to life, (I've lived in one of the outer boroughs for most of my life, so I should know.) There is a combination in the Manhattan night air of sucess and desparation, from all the people in the city experiencing these two extremes --and what lies between them -- that you can just about FEEL these emotions if you try...and you don't really have to try all that hard. The outdoors, night scenes of Manhattan, with the characters walking through it, really did re-communucate this feeling to me.
But, trying to follow a story which was, to me at least, unfollow-able, led to me concentrating SO hard as I tried....that I fell asleep! So, this is a VERY good movie for those sleepless nights -- it does the job of putting the viewer to sleep better than any commercial sleep product -- prescription or non-prescription -- even better than turkey and/or warm milk. Concentrating to get the jist of a difficult-to-follow movie DOES have its rewards -- or it did for me!
The insert with the DVD is very expansive. Along with many details about the film, it is printed in two typefaces, (names not given), which "scream" upper-crust. Must be on the lookout for those two typefaces! Seeing them is a true gift to an elegance-starved person like myself!
In sum, this is an odd movie, an old movie...but, for some purposes, quite a good movie. Not for following story and plot...for those are almost unfathonable, (or at least they were for me.) The "casual" ladies' dress styles CAN teach one how to dress like a day-time preppy, (although the evening clothes, especially on the young ladies, seemed quite haphazadly chosen.)
And -- watching it can make a dandy anti-insomnia treatment! This movie was NOT what I expected -- but still, I did get some benefits from it I had never expected!
DVD Review: Highbrow Character Study and Drama
Summary: 4 Stars
Started off as a lot of verbal bluster and parrying, but the characters seemed to grow more attractive and the plot more interesting over time. Yet, the setting and storyline seem somewhat farfetched in that it's difficult to imagine that young people this brilliant, empathetic, intellectual, rich and astute actually exist in real life. Or maybe I've been hanging out in the wrong circles. Bottom line--viewers attracted to highbrow drama and character studies will eat this film up.DVD Review: coming of age for Manhattan upper middles
Summary: 4 Stars
I got an urge to get Mansfield Park about half way through this
film. What struck me was hearing a clearly snobbish upper middle girl saying she didn't like snobs: that kind of thing makes it a comedy.
The two guys who become friends at the end because they share
a love for the same really nice girl is touching and funny.
A manners comedy set in a relatively modern 70's or 80's
Manhattan among college students that shows that the more things change, the more they remain the same?
DVD Review: Top Hat Man
Summary: 5 Stars
The heroine of Stillman's micro-peek, Manhattan preppies, she enjoys Jane Austin. Therefore, it is fitting that musings about relationships are mostly in stodgy wasp fantasy, harking to the 19th Century. In addition, these boys and gals have a bowtie existence, a sub strata concept that has worked for a long time. The more experimental might have a fling with a Long Island count or a Jew record executive, but discretion please. When they marry, well, within their bridge circle I'm sure.
If I give the impression that outsiders, just about everybody, wouldn't enjoy the Vassar quasi-intellectualism of youth, you would be wrong, for the subject is handled with love. These kids are sensitive, cocktail in gloved hand, their parent's divorce, impossible expectations, the looming failure discourse of the boys, all to be handled sometime in the future with aplomb. Don't ask an older prep what he does. It's unbearable to discuss their lowly profession.
Stillman is a true genius, projecting the character of brilliant, tortured wit, Nick, (Christopher Elgman), a cynic with cutting observation, and possibly he is often right. The boy wears a top hat like most wear a baseball cap. Stillman is creating something from what he knows, a series of debutant parties and interrelationships, amusing attitudes, these birds are rare exotics.
DVD Review: A very natural, very enlightening climb up the social ladder...
Summary: 5 Stars
Whit Stillman's film `Metropolitan' comes off like a wicked mix of Woody Allen and Robert Altman, making art out of general conversation and allowing us, the audience, to relate wholly to the situation by keeping everything grounded and within our grasp. Nothing happens within this film that could not or would not happen in reality, and that makes the concept and the end result all the more interesting. There are times where the film seems to be about nothing at all, which may be what makes the film so endearing. We become fascinated with the general conversation of these individuals, the whole time wondering what it is all really about, and then it hits us that the film is an exploration of youth in general and it's through these conversations that we get to dissect their lives.
So the film focuses on a group of upper-class socialites who find their clique infiltrated by the middle-class Tom. Tom is admittedly turned off by the needless parties these socialites entertain, and thus he immediately becomes entertaining to the higher-class preppies who find his viewpoints on their engagements fascinating. As the two worlds come together through interaction they realize that they are not so different after all. They know the same people, they read the same books; in fact it is only a social title that differentiates one from the other.
The film sheds light on the attitudes that propel these young adults through their lives as we see subtle yet powerful messages sent between parties. As young Audrey expresses her desire to court the outsider Tom we get to see just how the line between class distinctions does not mean there is a line between class in general.
The script may very well be my favorite script of 1990, maybe even the 90's in general (although that is probably pushing it a bit). It is smart and witty and insightful if one is really paying attention, and the cast of characters is truly diverse and interesting.
Each and every actor here really does a fine job of elevating the script, especially Christopher Eigeman who plays the devilishly sincere Nick Smith. His portrayal of your typical preppie is so deep-seated and authentic that he makes you feel as though you are standing right next to him, having each scene feel as though it was cut from your own reality. His charisma and charm are undeniable and his delivery is smooth as butter. Carolyn Farina is also wonderful as the tragically underappreciated Audrey, and Edward Clements soars as the outsider Tom. His watchful eye is felt throughout every frame as he takes in his acquaintances and silently judges them, never once looking at himself to see how he should be judged.
If you are a fan of Altman or Allen then this is a film for you, for it is just as witty, just as conversational and just as natural as either of the aforementioned director's bodies of work. The film may not appeal to everyone; well, it will not appeal to everyone. If you are wanting a briskly paced drama or a high octane thriller then you are looking in the wrong place, but if you are wanting a well developed and smart character study that will hold your attention despite its lack of real drama then this is the perfect film for you.
Description of Metropolitan - Criterion Collection
One of the most the most significant achievements of the American independent film movement of the 1990s, writer-director Whit Stillman's debut, Metropolitan, is a sparkling comedic chronicle of a middle-class young man's romantic misadventures among New York City's debutante society. Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, Stillman's deft, literate script and hilariously high-brow observations mask a tender tale of adolescent anxiety. SPECIAL FEATURES: New, restored high-definition digital transfer . Audio commentary by director Whit Stillman, editor Christopher Tellefsen, and actors Chris Eigeman and Taylor Nichols. Rare outtakes and deleted scenes. Optional English subtitles for the deaf and heard of hearing. A new essay by author and film scholar Luc Sante.Whit Stillman (Barcelona, Last Days of Disco) enters Woody Allen territory in his talky yet articulate debut, creating a stinging expos? of self-important upper-class socialites and the head games they play, during their Christmas vacation in Manhattan. Witty and cynical, Stillman captures this odd subculture with sly observation and occasional sympathy--sort of a fascinating anthropological study of adolescent preppies. His young subjects, spoiled by their silver spoons, still lack life experience and, thus, emotional maturity or social grace. They pass time idly discussing Jane Austen (a tip of the hat to the master of social-manner comedies), Marxism, and other philosophies, dressing up for parties and undressing during strip poker, and gossiping about the romantic pairings for the upcoming debutante ball. Stillman smartly offers up Tom (Edward Clements), a middle-class loner who's slowly adopted into the clique, as an audience identification reference, making the events seem even stranger and funnier from his point of view. But Tom's far from perfect himself. As the innocent, easily manipulated Audrey (Carolyn Farina) begins to fall in love with him, Tom's boorish, hurtful responses make him appear as juvenile as the rest. Concurrently, it also jolts the group with a much-needed taste of reality, and the film with unpredictable poignancy, suggesting that at least one may grow from the experience. In his first opportunity as director, Stillman pulls wonderful performances from his unknown cast. Especially memorable are Christopher Eigeman as the sarcastically perceptive snob, Nick, and Taylor Nichols playing the philosophical, anxiety-ridden Charlie. --Dave McCoy
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